McHenry County Blog

Here’s the press release from the State’s Attorney’s Office:

KIRK LOCHER FOUND GUILTY FOR SHOOTING FAMILY DOG

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that Kirk Locher was found guilty yesterday by a jury for the offenses of Aggravated Cruelty and Reckless Discharge
of a Firearm, resulting from the shooting death of his yellow Labrador Retriever, “Breeze”.

The evidence at trial revealed that the defendant had been drinking alcohol throughout the afternoon at his Woodstock home on May 30, 2008.

Later that night, the defendant woke-up his wife complaining that the dog had bit him. His wife got out of bed and sat at the kitchen table with the Labrador Retriever resting approximately four feet away on the kitchen floor.

The defendant brought a revolver out of his bedroom, leaned over the kitchen table, and shot
the retriever in the head.

Two investigating officers testified that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol when they arrived at the scene.

Both offenses are class four felonies and the defendant faces a possible sentence of probation or conditional discharge or between one to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

This case was investigated by Ofc. Harmon, Det. Spitzer and Sgt. Amati of the Woodstock Police Department, and prosecuted for the State by Assistant State’s Attorneys Sharyl Eisenstein and Ryan Blackney.

Near sunset on April 16, 2010, at the Lake Avenue stop sign overlooking Crystal Lake's Main Beach.

Driving home from Route 14 Friday night, the sunshine was so yellow as I drove along Lake Avenue to Crystal Lake’s Main Beach.

I snapped this picture while waiting for traffic to clear on the street that runs in front of the entrance to the Main Beach.

I found these crocuses (croci?) out on our Lake Avenue shoulder just now.

The pale yellow is brilliant enough to make me want to buy more, but I certainly won’t dig up the bulbs.

More brilliant ones are coming.

You know my color blind eyes like yellow.

I see it with the intensity that normal folks probably see all colors.

Imagine my amazement when I say this yellow violet underneath the big red oak tree in our back yard.

Then, I found two more blossoms near some daffodils next to the helicopter pad (the brick patio where the yellow pansy appeared).

I remembered that I bought a yellow violet plant from a Meridian Street neighbor a couple of years ago, but I can’t remember where I planted it.

Wherever that was, it must have spread much like the other violets in our yard have.

Every time I get a pitch to kill all the broad leaf plants in our year, I think of the violets that would disappear.

We have

purple ones,

white ones,

purple and white ones and, now,

yellow ones.

You know my color blind eyes like yellow.

I see it with the intensity that normal folks probably see all colors.

Imagine my amazement when I say this yellow violet underneath the big red oak tree in our back yard.

Then, I found two more blossoms near some daffodils next to the helicopter pad (the brick patio where the yellow pansy appeared).

I remembered that I bought a yellow violet plant from a Meridian Street neighbor a couple of years ago, but I can’t remember where I planted it.

Wherever that was, it must have spread much like the other violets in our yard have.

Every time I get a pitch to kill all the broad leaf plants in our year, I think of the violets that would disappear.

We have

purple ones,

white ones,

purple and white ones and, now,

yellow ones.

My color blind eyes see yellow with pretty good intensity.

So, when my son and I walked by this forsythia bush in a yard facing the flooded Fox River, you know I pointed the camera in its direction.

We have a bank of forsythia on Lake Avenue in Lakewood, but those bushes have not bloomed yet.

For a better view, click on the photo.

My color blind eyes see yellow with pretty good intensity.

So, when my son and I walked by this forsythia bush in a yard facing the flooded Fox River, you know I pointed the camera in its direction.

We have a bank of forsythia on Lake Avenue in Lakewood, but those bushes have not bloomed yet.

For a better view, click on the photo.

It looks like I won my own contest.

Last fall, I raked the entire public right-of-way on Lake Avenue next to our property, but “other people’s leaves” covered it again.

Alert person that I am, I figured that I better get the leaves up before the bulbs started popping.

Midweek, I got rid of them between the steps to the only “hill” in Country Club Additions and the mailbox.

But, there are bulbs all along the road.

So I started raking again.

Now I have filled up every container I have and Lakewood doesn’t do pick up from non-bags probably for a month.

Look what I found under the leaves.

It’s a crocus. And, it’s yellow, so I can see it well.

Anyone else have any flowers?

It looks like I won my own contest.

Last fall, I raked the entire public right-of-way on Lake Avenue next to our property, but “other people’s leaves” covered it again.

Alert person that I am, I figured that I better get the leaves up before the bulbs started popping.

Midweek, I got rid of them between the steps to the only “hill” in Country Club Additions and the mailbox.

But, there are bulbs all along the road.

So I started raking again.

Now I have filled up every container I have and Lakewood doesn’t do pick up from non-bags probably for a month.

Look what I found under the leaves.

It’s a crocus. And, it’s yellow, so I can see it well.

Anyone else have any flowers?

There was a BIG snowball under this evergreen tree.

It could have been used to be the base of a snowman.

My son and a neighborhood friend rolled it down the little hill we live on.

It has sat there for about a month.

This morning it was almost gone.

This part of our yard along Lake Avenue gets more sun than any other part.

It’s where my yellow flowers my color blind eyes can appreciate come up in the spring.

If I get the leaves up in time.As usual, you can enlarge any of the photographs by clicking on them.

And, send me a picture of your yard’s your first flower and I’ll post it as a “Message of the Day.”